Our Daily Bread- Giving Thanks

READ: John 11:32-44 Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.” —John 11:41 A tragedy left a family with a void that

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, Feb 26, 2013

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READ: John 11:32-44

Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.” —John 11:41

A tragedy left a family with a void that nothing could fill. A toddler
chasing a cat wandered into the road and was run over by a delivery
truck. A 4-year-old watched in shocked silence as her parents cradled
the lifeless body of her little sister. For years, the cold emptiness of that moment encased the family in sadness. Feelings were frozen. The
only comfort was numbness. Relief was unimaginable.
Author Ann Voskamp was the 4-year-old, and the sorrow surrounding her sister’s death formed her view of life and God. The world she grew up in had
little concept of grace. Joy was an idea that had no basis in reality.
As a young mother, Voskamp set out to discover the elusive thing the Bible calls joy. The words for joy and grace come from the Greek word chairo, which she found out is at the center of the Greek word for thanksgiving. Could it be that simple? she wondered. To test her discovery, Voskamp decided to give thanks for
1,000 gifts she already had. She started slowly but soon gratefulness
was flowing freely.
Just as Jesus gave thanks before, not after, raising Lazarus from the dead
(John 11:41), Voskamp discovered that giving thanks brought to life
feelings of joy that had died along with her sister. Joy comes from
thanksgiving. —Julie Ackerman Link
Lord, I thank You that You have the power
to raise the dead. May the feelings of joy
that arise from our thanksgiving be seeds of
grace to those who are afraid to feel.
The joy of living comes from a heart of thanksgiving.

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